Greetings everyone. This is my first post. I am seriously considering the purchase of a 2004 SL 500. I apologize if there is a thread out there about this. If so, please feel free to chastise me and send me in the right direction, as I did search.
Is there anything that I should look out for. This car is at a Mercedes dealership and their described "checklist" seems pretty thorough. I noticed some rust on some pulleys in the engine, but it's surface rust that I could treat. Interior looks incredible, exterior is 9.5/10. Carfax looks good. What should I dig deeper on? Is there anything I should be concerned about if I did purchase? It has 92k on the odometer. I am aware of the active suspension concerns.
Thanks for any and all replies.

 

1) Check for any first signs of rust where the rear bumper cover meets the quarter panels, like paint starting to blister. 2) Make sure that the soft close works on the trunk. 3) Drive it hard over some sharp bumps and make sure that you don't get ABC warnings. 4) Work the roof and roll bar a few times 5) Check the lumbar, seat heater, or multi contour 'massage' functions 6) Check the console latches to make sure both work. 7) Check the lower front bumper cover for cracks 8) Headlights should be clear and not cloudy. 9) Do a few full pedal accelerations and make sure that it doesn't fault out to limp mode. 10) Get a full diagnostic quick test printout and check for any concerns or post it here 11) While they are doing the quick test, have them pull the transmission adaptation values. The transmission compensates for wear and these are an indication of how worn the clutches are. Look for adaptation values less than half of the maximum.12) Check for unusual wear patterns on the tires if they have some miles on them. 13) Check all of the seat adjustments on both side and make sure that the easy access function to the rear is working on both. 14) Remove the spare tire cover, spare, and jack tray and check for any signs of current or previous moisture on the trunk floor. 15) While you are in the trunk, check the fluid level of the top pump (remove the foam on the left hand side). 16) Check the A/C. 17) Check the key functions like keyless go if equipped, check both fobs if it has two.18) check all of the lock/unlock functions, both doors, interior compartments, trunk. 19) Check Parktronic and Distronic if equipped. 20) Check dash and radio lcd's for sun fade or bad pixels. 20) Check the the small flaps the cover the top frame opening on the rear shelf are intact and solid on their hinges. 21) Don't overpay. At that mileage, you can get a really nice '04 for $12k. It would have to be really nice or a hard to find color combination to be worth much more than that.

At lot of what I listed above isn't necessarily expensive to fix, but they are common problems and will help in your negotiations. I'm sure I missed a few things and others will probably chime it to add to the list.

 

MikeJ65, thank you for that detailed response! The body of this vehicle looks spectacular. I will take a look at all of the things you mentioned. Based on what you are saying, they are asking a little much, 13.5k. It's a Mercedes dealer, and they won't negotiate, so I might have to look elsewhere. They've had it on their lot for almost five months, and they claim to have dropped the price recently. So, I guess it will depend on a few things. But I will use your list of things to look a little deeper next week. Perhaps if I show real interest and still walk, they might come down some more. I'll update after my more thorough inspection. Thanks again!!

 

A couple of things that I forgot yesterday: 1) the wiring connector to the transmission tends to leak 2) check all of the covered interior pieces for loose or bubbling covers. This is very common on the console trim and also the dash. The rear deck pieces also like to loosen if they get wet. 3) engine mounts tend to fail early and are an expensive repair job. Stand to the side with the hood up and have someone power against the brake in drive and reverse and check for excessive engine rock. 4) trunk, hood, and console struts tend to weaken. The console strut is expensive and a pain to replace. The hood and trunk ones are simple to replace, but something you could get done for free before you buy. 5) there are issues with the rack gear that deploys the deck cover flaps mounted on the front corners of the trunk. Mercedes make a repair part, ask if they have been repaired.

There is more than one way to negotiate. If there is uneven wear on the tires, for example, demand a suspension check, alignment, and maybe new tires. Ask them if it has the new 3 micron filter for the ABC. If they can't tell you yes, have them replace it. Ask for a transmission fluid/filter service. Also, another good technique is to walk away and tell them to call you if the price drops again.

They will probably claim that 92k is low mileage and it really is for a 16 year old car. However, the SL's didn't get driven heavily and 92k is probably a little above average for an '04. I wouldn't be scared off by it, but it does affect the value and is a point of negotiation.

 

Great posts by Mike! I would totally concur on negotiation technique, ultimately everything is negotiable even at a "no haggle" dealership. This is the off-season for selling a convertible and probably the worst time of the year for selling a car. Don't be afraid to make an offer and walk away.

 

Thanks to everyone for the replies. It seems like someone else was interested as well as it sold over the weekend. Oh well. I wouldn't have been in the market for a few more weeks anyway. Looking in the winter was one of the reasons that I thought I might find a decent deal. I'll keep looking. Found a nice '09 about 200 miles away. Not sure I like the updated look. And not sure I want to pay that much for a springtime, weekend toy. Not sure my mid-life crisis has kicked in that much to justify the additional coin. So far I've really enjoyed the looking part and the info you all gave me has been very informative. Hopefully I'll be an owner soon!

 

Engine and transmission mounts are almost always worn out at 85-90K miles. Almost all Benzos I've bought with this mileage on them have needed those replaced. Not an expensive repair, if you buy the parts online get genuine MBZ parts about $200 for all three mounts and My indy guy does those jobs for about $300-$400 labor. Dealer might charge twice that, or more, but smart benz owners know better than to be ripped off by a dealer. I would certainly expect those to need replacement. If there is no proof that the mounts have been changed in the last 20K miles, I would have told that dealer to deduct $1500 off the price for that job right there! Boom.

 

Hello, I bought a 2003 with 23.5k miles, original owner, stored in an airconditioned garage and it had a brand new appearance and ride. I couldn't resist this beauty, so I bought it. The trouble I experienced was electro mechanical- the hardtop convertible failed on 2 or 3 separate occaisons and was resolved by a local non Mercedes shop for just under $1500.00 ouch. When you buy a car this old, it has 2 things going against it: One is age and the other is mileage. In my case , aged manifold seals are causing check engine light to come on. These (there are several) will be replaced until the light is extinguished. Hardtop convertible actuators, hydraulic fluid pumps that activate the hardtop can cost you thousands to fix. Engine and transmission are flawless though and the ride is superb. On another note , the car has a sophisticated electro mechanical front seat controls that are supposed to massage your back while you drive-very nice if they worked but unfortunately this is a major flaw in this vehicle. from what I read, most of these older models have failure in this system. Very expensive to fix too. Just be aware that you can expect some what could be hefty repair bills. My advice is to get all the service records and check them thoroughly.

 

My advice would be to either DIY or find a good independent mechanic. I would never recommend dealer servicing of any German car, OEM parts and paying nearly $200 per hour will break you. On the upside, these are very well made cars and if you aren't beholden to a dealership to maintain they can be quite reliable.